hiking

Along with my son and good hiking friend Trent, we set off to Artists' Point near Mount Baker for an overnight hike to Ptarmigan Ridge. The USFS service station indicated that there was snow on the trail and route finding required and they were right. Though only about 10% of the trail was snow-covered, the spots that were were usually deep and fairly steep. The views began immediately and only got better as we progressed.

This summer I hope to pepper several of the months with hikes in order to condition myself and C for the big 4 day Enchantments hike. Today, almost last minute, we thought we would head off to Boulder River Falls, a nice forested hike. I packed my bag at about 75% my full trek weight and C's at 10lbs. We headed off to the trailhead at 12:30pm, the latest I've ever left for a hike before!

We arrived at the turnoff for the trailhead off Highway 530, less than a quarter mile in, the road was blocked by a tree. Damn. It was not that big of a tree, but it was a solid fall and wasn't going anywhere. A number of people had parked and apparently hoofed it the 3 miles in to the real trailhead, but I figured we could find another nearby trail, as the Darrington area had plenty.

Cohen and I went on a gorgeous hike at the Chinook Pass summit this Sunday. I read that this was an easy hike and I knew Cohen would enjoy himself so we decided to go.

The hike was extremely easy, but the payoff was amazing. From small unnamed ponds with green/blue water to the imemnse Mount Rainier, there was eye-candy abound. The fall colors were starting to appear, with lots of vibrant red ground cover.

On the drive to see Annie Get Your Gun in Leavenworth with Tim and Joyce, Tim and I decided to take a hike the next day. Despite getting home from the play at 1:30am, we deciided to go anyways, and were on our way to Darrington by 8:30.